Notes / Commercial Description:
Generous additions of American Cascade hops give a hoppy spicy flavor. We balanced this just a hint of caramel malt sweetness. A delicious American Pale Ale full of fragrant and flavorful hops.

Reviews by PirateUlf73:

My first review in a long while. A pale ale from Southern Illinois, my old stomping ground. Supposedly unfiltered. I am intrigued. 22 oz bomber bottle, poured into a pint glass.

A: I got a little excited on the pour, which resulted in a massive white head. Excellent retention and bubbles. The color is a nice clear, medium gold, and not at all what I would have expected from an "unfiltered" ale. Overall, pretty nice eye candy, for a pale ale, anyway.

S: A crisp graininess hits my nose to start, akin to (oddly enough) a decent lager or Kölsch. Perhaps a bit of light, juniper-like hop aroma, but not too much. The substantial head really helped the aromatics emerge, ans I'm not sure that I would have detected much without assistance.

T: Apparently, the modest aromas belied this beer's solid hop offering. Not too little, not too much. A pretty decent balance between hops and barley. Having said that, I found the grain bill to be lacking somewhat. It seemed a tad harsh for my liking. I felt that while the initial balance was nice, the malt could have been a bit sweeter.

M: Fairly light, almost to a medium body. It felt quite smooth on the tongue and going down the hatchet. The flavors seemed to linger for quite a while afterward.

D: If you're a fan of the flavors, then this would make an ideal session pale, though I've not been able to determine the alcohol content.

I had my choice of three beers from this brewery, and the pale ale was definitely a mixed bag. The appearance and mouthfeel were quite lovely, but the smell was weak and the taste left a lot to be desired. However, for a smaller brewery it was a decent effort and I look forward to sampling Big Muddy's other offerings.

More User Reviews:

A- This beer pours a clear golden yellow body with a swirling storm of microbubbles that support a thick head of white foam that last a good while and holds its shape pushing above the glass.

S- The green herbal hops have just a touch of field corn and some flinty mineral notes in the finish.

T- The pils malt is crisp with a touch of light crystal malt with a sweetness that cuts the carbonic acid in the finish. There is also a raw barley taste the leads to the pine herbal green snap in the finish that is pretty dry. There is a lingering bitter note that takes on a pungency as the beer opens.

M- The light mouthfeel has a fizzy scrubbing finish and no alcohol heat. It has a very crisp texture.

O- The nice crisp easy drinking pale ale has full bitterness to the hops with some nice floral notes that are a little soft. There is a good support by some malt flavors making this interesting and easy to drink.

A - A nice little cap of white foam graces this peachy-copper beer. The head fades pretty quickly though. Lacing is sparse.

S - Tropical fruit, canned pineapple, and hard white bread. Nice and fresh! Could stand to be a bit more assertive though.

T - Much more hoppy than the nose suggests. Fresh, yeasty, and bready with some pineapple and grapefruit notes leading to a bitter and peppery finish. As it warms it's big on the grapefruit and tongue tingling alpha acids.

M - Medium bodied and well constructed. Finishes bitter and spicy, but well balanced for the style.

I'm glad this came in a big 650ml bottle since it's a great choice for a session brew if you are in the mood for hops.

Pale orange body, high clarity. Slim cap of foam, recedes to a ring connected to an island. Looks fairly typical for the style.

Nondescript grainy pale malt aroma, hops are somewhat grassy.

Dry and bitter, very simple with ample grassy hop bitterness. Light malt presence, buttered bread, pretty light with a slightly mellow feel. Some dried citrus peel hop flavor, though the grassiness dominates. Quenching and drinkable, suited best to warm weather. Seems to fit the profile of an English Pale more than American, fairly mild overall with no flaws to speak of.

An easy drinking "simple by design" session ale aimed squarely at craft novices to ease them into drinking better beer. Simplicity is underrated... obviously no one is trying to reinvent the wheel here.

Tasted from a bomber poured into a .5 liter dimpled mug. This one did not have any dating on it whatsoever, inspected it multiple times. Would assume fairly fresh though as it just popped up in my local store, which I frequent quite a bit. It was not there a couple of weeks ago. Also, did not have even an ABV rating anywhere on it either. Odd.

Anyways, this one was drinkable, but not great. Like I said, no date anywhere on it, but under the circumstances I would believe it was pretty fresh. The problem is, it still tasted old and stale. Not the kind of old where it breaks down or the hops fade, the kind of old where it just tastes like old, dried up, stale hops. The malt backbone that accompanies it is not especially pleasant either. It has a funny off flavor I can't quite put my finger on. Kind of stale too I suppose, with a hint of funkiness.

It was also medium bodied at first, but as I drank it further and it warmed, it become more an more watery. It became quite thin, so much so it was like the beer had been mixed with water. Very odd.

Poured a golden yellow color with a small quarter inch head. There was little carbination but a fair amount of lacing. Although not as hoppy as an IPA, it tasted pretty close to a typicial IPA. This beer was suprisingly clear for an "unfiltered ale". The hops flavor appeared to increase as the glass and the beer warmed.

This brew was fairly light compared to my usual selections. The hops flavor seemed to linger in the mouth. Overall the beer was an average pale ale with no remarkabe qualities.

I like this pale ale better than many bees I have tried. That may not say much but I rate this a lot higher than it's score denotes. The pour was somewhat average as the appearance and color were also. The head did not stick around, but the nose and taste were very pleasant. And that's why I give it a better score. In a sea of mediocre ales and beers, this one stood a little higher than that.

The last of the Big Muddy beers. Not a long ride, by any means, but an entertaining one. This finale pours a hazy amber-kissed straw topped by over a finger of harsh white foam. Tiny floaties swim idly by within. The nose comprises wheat, very light lemon peel, and a touch of puffed rice. The taste holds notes of lemon peel, dark greens, light plastic, musty wheat, and grass. This really doesn't taste very good at all. The body is a hefty-leaning light, with a light moderate carbonation and a sorta grainy feel. Overall, this is a pretty sad pale ale. Straight up.

A: Pours a clear pale yellow color. A very minimal white head forms with no retention, and a light watery film of lace.
S: A mellow citrus, grapefruit, and grassy hop aroma. Not much else.
T: Follows the nose. Pretty much some citrus and grapefruit hops. Very mellow without a lot of bitterness. A light sweetness for balance.
M/D: A medium body that is really crisp, clean, and dry. Easy to drink. I can quaff a few with ease.

A nice pale ale. Nothing out of the ordinary, but enjoyable. Hopefully the Southern Illinois area will enjoy lots of these during Saluki games. I know I would if I still lived in Carbondale.

Poured out a clear, bubbly, orange/amber color with an off-white head of bubbly foam. It smelled of citrusy hops with hints of pine. There was a good bit of caramel in the nose, too. It tasted of sweet caramel with a nice bitter hop kick.